2 Yule Be the Death of Me (7 page)

Vivienne
nodded back. “Thank you, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” She turned to
leave. “It was very nice to meet you.”

Octavia rose
from her chair. “Likewise, my dear.” She placed her hand upon the crystal ball
and yanked it back with a startled gasp.

Vivienne
whirled around, fully prepared to deal with a carnival-style side show
performance when she noticed that her brown eyes were fading into pure white.
Not rolling back, but losing all color in a matter of seconds. “Miss Octavia?
Are you ill?”

“Beware the
cold moon. It is still hungry.” Octavia’s voice was low and foreboding.

Vivienne took
a tentative step toward her. “What about the moon?”

“It is not
finished. It will strike again. The voice in the wind gives warning.” Octavia
finished and then slumped onto the table.

Vivienne
rushed forward and pulled her back against the chair. “Miss Octavia?”

Octavia’s
eyelids fluttered and her brown eyes returned to their normal hue. “What
happened?”

“I wish I
knew.” Vivienne patted her gently on the arms. “You started to say something
about the moon and then you passed out.”

Octavia took a
deep breath and shook her head. “I did?”

Vivienne
nodded. “You mentioned the cold moon.”

“That’s what
the December moon is called on the witch’s calendar.”

“I’m aware of
that.” Vivienne replied. “You said it was hungry and going to strike again.
What did you mean?”

“I have no
idea. I just remember feeling dizzy and then you asking me if I was okay.”
Octavia groaned and put her hands on her temples. “But I’ve got a nasty
headache all of a sudden.”

“Would you
like me to take you to the urgent care center to get checked out?”

Octavia waved
her off. “No, my dear. It’s fading away now.” She shook her head a few times
and then gave a little smile. “Besides, I’ve got plenty of natural remedies
that cost far less than a trip to the doctor.”

Vivienne
glanced at her watch and knew she couldn’t afford to stay much longer. “I’d be
happy to take you.”

“Go and bake
your goodies.” She smiled and stood up from the chair. “I’ve been working so
hard trying to get this store together and skipping meals. My blood sugar is
probably all over the place.”

“Are you a
diabetic?” Vivienne asked.

“No, praise
the Goddess.” Octavia gave her a wicked little grin. “But making friends with
the town baker isn’t going to do me any favors.”

Vivienne
glanced at her watch once more. “Well, it was nice to meet you. I’m making
apple doughnuts this morning if you’d like to stop buy and try a complimentary
sample.”

“Isn’t that
sweet of you?” Octavia beamed with a warm smile. “I just might do that.”

“See you later
today.” Vivienne rushed off to open her bakery.

Joshua stepped
into the Sweet Dreams Bakery still dressed in his uniform. His steel-blue eyes
looked heavy and sleep-deprived as he walked up to the counter where Vivienne
was busy transcribing a telephone order onto a notepad. She thanked the caller
and hung up, clipping the order to a large magnetic board that had ‘New Orders’
labeled in bold letters on top.

“You look like
you haven’t slept in days.” Vivienne spoke softly, trying to gauge his mood.

He nodded.
“This case has been keeping us all on edge.”

Vivienne
stepped around
  the
counter and faced him head
on. “Before we say anything else I just want to apologize for snooping around
like that and making trouble for you. I’m planning to go down and tell Sheriff
Rigsbee
it was all my idea and you had nothing to do with
it. I’m so sorry.”

Joshua reached
out and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I know you are and you don’t need
to do that because I’m not in any sort of trouble.”

Vivienne
exhaled. “Good. Heaven knows I’m probably the last person he wants walking into
his office right now.”

“Sheriff
Rigsbee
wanted nothing more than to toss you in a cell for
being a busybody, but you haven’t broken any laws so that’s not an option.”

“I promise I
won’t go near Eddie, Natalie, or Connor.” Vivienne held her right hand up as if
taking an oath. “I learned my lesson.”

Joshua
swallowed hard and looked away from her. “Yeah, about that.”

“You don’t
believe me?”

He shook his
head. “No, I believe you. It’s something else.”

Vivienne
couldn’t take the agonizing silence that followed. Her thoughts drifted back to
her conversation with Miss Octavia. Could he feel that she was close to
figuring out his secret? She reached up to his chin and turned his head toward
hers. It was then that she saw the tears in the corners of her eyes. “You’re
starting to scare me here. Whatever is wrong, we’ll deal with it together.”

 “I just
came from the hospital. Eddie Robertson died this morning.”

“What?”
Vivienne gasped.

“I was there
for the whole thing and it was awful. Natalie was in the room right up until
the end and she had Connor next to her the whole time. Poor little guy was so
upset and confused.” Joshua reached up and swept a tear away that had run down
his right cheek.

Vivienne
guided him over to one of the bistro tables and sat down directly across from
him. She was slightly relieved his news didn’t concern Miss Octavia, but the
alternative was almost as bad. “So I take it Natalie isn’t a suspect in the
shooting?”

“He wasn’t
shot.” Joshua continued. “He had something else going on and was bleeding out.
I know the doctors were pretty stumped.”

“That’s very
strange. The next door neighbor told me she didn’t hear any gun shots, but one
of the other neighbors claimed he did.” Vivienne cupped her hands over his.
“I’m sure the autopsy will shed some light on what happened to him.”

He lowered his
head. “The whole time Connor was in the room he kept telling Natalie that Santa
could keep all his toys if he made his Daddy better.”

Vivienne’s
eyes clouded up with tears. “Bless his little heart.”

Joshua nodded
back. “I’ve never seen anything like it.  He was like this little soldier
just standing at attention next to the bed. Didn’t make a fuss or whine that he
wanted to go play with the toys in the waiting room.”

“This is
terrible.” Vivienne sniffed as she pictured the image in her head. “To lose his
father so close to the holidays.”

“Eddie was conscious
right up until the end. He was crying most of the time.” Joshua revealed. “He
just kept saying how sorry he
was .”

“What did
Natalie say happened?” Vivienne asked.

“I’ve already
said too much.” Joshua straightened up in his chair. “You can’t say anything
about this to anyone until it hits the media.”

Vivienne
nodded back. “You have my word.”

“The whole
department wants to find out what happened for Connor’s sake.” Joshua
continued. “When he’s old enough, he deserves to know the truth.”

“Of course.” Vivienne
agreed. “I wouldn’t want to jeopardize that.”

“I’m sorry for
acting the way I have lately.” Joshua glanced around the bakery at all the
colorful decorations. “This whole thing has just taken the joy right out of the
holidays.”

“Any progress
figuring out who penned that Bad Santa note?” Vivienne asked.

He shook his
head. “Not that I know of. But whoever wrote it probably had something to do
with Eddie’s death. It’s being analyzed at the crime lab in Rochester.”

“Let’s hope
that’s the end of it then.” Vivienne added. Although the Cayuga Cove sheriff’s
department was competent, she knew they lacked the sophisticated equipment that
could yield the critical break in a case.

“Let’s hope
so.” Joshua agreed.

“Is there
anything I can do to help?” Vivienne asked.

Joshua looked
around the bakery. “Are we alone?”

“Stephanie
isn’t in until this afternoon.” Vivienne assured him.

“Is there some
kind of spell you could cast to figure out what happened? Something to put us
on the right path?”

Vivienne shook
her head. “I’m not even close to those kind of heavy duty spells. Nana Mary
told me it will take years of practice before I reach that level.”

“Damn.” Joshua
frowned. “I was hoping we could solve this fast.”

“I’ll bet she
can put me on the right path.”

Joshua gave
her a little smile. “I’m all for any help that solves this case as fast as
possible.”

“There might
be a way, if I can get to see Natalie in person.” Vivienne pondered. “If my
power kicks in, that is.”

“You can’t
fully control it yet?”

Vivienne
sighed. “Nana Mary says that the more I utilize it, the more control I’ll gain.
Unfortunately, I’ve been a bit lax in practicing magic lately.”

“We still have
the problem of you losing consciousness after your power kicks in too.” Joshua
felt a little shudder at how close Vivienne came to having her life taken away
a few months ago when she was investigating the murder of Mona Clarke. Her
power had revealed the awful truth, but she had almost taken it to the grave.
“I can’t have you put yourself in danger like that again.”

Vivienne took
a deep breath. “It really sucks being a new witch sometimes. You have all these
spells and powers, but you have to wait years to use them.”

“Well, I guess
we learned the danger of someone getting power too early.” Joshua agreed. “So,
it makes sense to hold back while you learn the fundamentals.”

“So, that
leaves Nana Mary and her advice.” 

“Won’t Nora
find it odd with you two talking about magic and spells?” Joshua asked.

“She doesn’t
listen to a word we say. Whenever she comes over she spends the whole time
cleaning and organizing the apartment according to the latest Martha Stewart
magazine article while getting the latest tips on television from Doctor Oz.”
Vivienne chuckled. “I’ll call Nana Mary beforehand and make sure she really leaves
a mess to keep her extra occupied.

“I love you.”
Joshua leaned forward and kissed her fully on the lips.

*         
*          *

A little past
noon, Stephanie arrived for her afternoon shift. Vivienne had tried to focus on
crafting the perfect apple donuts, but she kept overcooking them when her mind
wandered off concerning Eddie’s death and Octavia’s vision.  When she
amassed a rather full baker’s dozen of ruined treats, she had to resort to
casting the minor time-reversal spell she had re-named ‘
Oopsie
Doopsie
’ to fix the problem. It had been a few weeks
since she used magic, and it felt good to be able to actually practice it
again. Plus, she’d be able to say she’d been practicing her magic when Nana
Mary asked.

“These look
amazing.” Stephanie commented on the glistening fried donuts cooling on the
marble slab table. “What’s your secret?”

“Magic,
naturally.” Vivienne told the truth with a little twinkle in her hazel eyes.

“I believe
you.” Stephanie smiled and tied her apron on. “I was going to knock out those
three dozen ginger snaps for the VFW ladies lunch order tomorrow.  Was
there anything else you wanted me to take care of?”

“Would you
mind finishing off another two dozen donuts?” Vivienne stepped away from the
fryer. “I’ve just about had a full shower of hot oil this morning standing
here.” She smiled.

“No problem,
but don’t expect them to turn out quite as nice as yours.”

Vivienne
chuckled. “I have complete faith in you.”

Stephanie
walked over to the fryer and glanced at the temperature gauge. “Wow, you really
must be working magic.”

“What do you
mean?” Vivienne asked as she loosened the apron strings from around her waist.

“This oil is
at almost four hundred.” Stephanie turned the dial down to the standard three
hundred and sixty degree setting. “I can’t believe you didn’t burn them to a
crisp.”

“So that’s why
I was having so much trouble.” Vivienne fibbed. “What you don’t see is a
garbage bag filled with charred donut cinders out back.”

Stephanie
grinned. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

 Vivienne
sighed. “I guess I should play a lotto ticket given the lucky streak I’ve been
on.”

“Would you get
me a winning ticket too?” Stephanie joked. “I’d sure love that jackpot for
Christmas shopping.”

Vivienne
winked. “Wouldn’t we all?” She dropped her dirty apron into the hamper along
the side wall and gave her appearance a once over in the small mirror mounted
on the stockroom door. “I won’t need to do any hot oil treatments on my hair
this month.” She tossed her shoulder-length auburn locks with her fingers.

An hour later,
after a quick shower and a change of clothes, she hopped into her Toyota Matrix
and drove over to pick up her mother.

As usual, she
was standing on the curb with her trusty L.L. Bean canvas tote bag at her side.
Vivienne didn’t have to look inside to know the contents. It was filled with
her usual weekly visit supplies. Cleaning products from double coupon day at
the Monarch Grocery, small plastic storage containers that were
color-coordinated and pre-labeled for easy access, and several magazines she
had read and was passing on to the Whispering Pines residents. When it came to
schedules and consistent efficiency, even the United States military could
learn a thing or two from Nora Finch.

“Hello,
Mother.” Vivienne said cheerfully as her mother opened the passenger side door
and tucked the bag in the back seat.

“You’re ten
minutes late.” Nora climbed into the front passenger seat and put on her
seatbelt. “This blasted cold goes right to your bones.”

“I’m sorry
about that.” Vivienne checked her mirror and pulled out onto the road to head
for Nana Mary’s. “I wanted to change clothes after working this morning.”

“Be careful of
icy patches.” Nora warned as she placed her hands on the dashboard. She tapped
her fingernails across the plastic as if preparing for the airbag to inflate at
any moment.

Vivienne
suppressed a grin and eased off the gas, even though she was doing the posted
speed limit of exactly thirty miles an hour. “The roads are dry as a bone,
mother.”

Nora relaxed
as their speed dropped to a more leisurely twenty-five and allowed her hands to
rest
  upon
her lap. “Well, you just never know
with these town services today. Not many people take pride in their work.”

“I do.”
Vivienne added as they turned onto Cayuga Circle and headed for their
destination.

“Well, you’re
my daughter so that’s a given.” Nora commented. “I meant with the younger
generation.”

“Ouch.”
Vivienne grimaced. “I guess I walked into that one on my own.”

“I didn’t mean
you were old, darling daughter.” Nora was quick to reply.

“Oh good.”
Vivienne was surprised.

“But you
really should make an effort to get married and start a family while you still
have a few prime years left.” Nora added with her usual sweet sting.

 Vivienne
stepped on the gas pedal a little more, just for good measure as her response
to the barb.

Nora cleared
her throat. “My, the snow certainly is bright when
  the
sun is shining like this.”

“It reminds me
of the sand reflecting on the beach in Ogunquit. Those were the best family
vacations.”

“Except for
you always ordering a lobster roll and then refusing to eat it.” Nora added.
“Good gracious, you pulled that little stunt every vacation until you were
almost sixteen.”

“It took me
some time to get used to cold seafood.” Vivienne defended herself from the very
old battle. “Besides, Daddy always ate my entrée anyway.”

Nora nodded.
“Which probably didn’t help his cholesterol levels with all the heavy
mayonnaise and extra bread.”

 “You’re
right, Mother. I’m sure it didn’t help matters.” Vivienne spoke as she admired
the well-kept homes that lined both sides of the street. Most were decorated
with tasteful holiday wreathes, gold and silver ribbons, and the occasional
menorah. White lights, of course, were the standard and each home was modestly
illuminated, yet they could not chase, blink, or flash in any sort of pattern.
The Residential Association kept strict guidelines for approved outdoor decor
along the street and the homeowners followed it to the letter as hefty fines
were given out at the slightest sign of defiance. Vivienne had to admit the
tasteful displays of holiday cheer were something to be admired, but part of
her missed the tacky blow up snowmen and the light up flamingos and pigs that
gave a certain unexpected gleefulness to the holiday.